ASUNCION – A preliminary hearing in the case against the man Paraguayan prosecutors accuse of masterminding the murder of two journalists in 2014 was suspended on Thursday for the second time.

Attorneys for Vilmar Acosta obtained another delay after filing a motion demanding the recusal of Judge Carlos Martinez for his alleged “hatred and resentment” of the defendant.

The hearing was for the purpose of deciding whether or not the former mayor of the town of Ypehu should face trial on charges he ordered the Oct. 16, 2014, killings of Pablo Medina and Antonia Almada.

Acosta has been behind bars in Asuncion for the last year after his extradition from Brazil.

The former mayor’s brother, Wilson Acosta, and nephew, Flavio Acosta, are charged with carrying out the double-murder.

While Wilson Acosta remains at large, Flavio is in custody in Brazil pending extradition.

Prosecutors say Medina told associates two months before his death that he was being watched by gunmen working for Vilmar Acosta.

As Asuncion daily ABC Color’s correspondent in the western province of Canindeyu, which borders Brazil, Medina became known for investigative stories about links between drug traffickers and politicians in the marijuana-growing region.

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